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The list of achievements for National Award-winning makeup and prosthetics designer Preetisheel Singh haven’t stopped from the day she set foot in the world of make-believe.

“They say, Bollywood is a place where dreams are made. So what better than a profession which helps makes those dreams a reality,” quips Preetisheel, who has designed the looks of actors for some of the topmost movies in Bollywood like Umesh Shukla’s 102 Not Out and Sajid Nadiadwala’s Housefull 3, along with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani and Padmaavat.

Her work for the pre-Mughal epic Nanak Shah Fakir directed by Sartaj Singh Pannu bagged her the coveted National Film Award for Best Makeup, while her talent will soon be showcased again in Anubhav Sinha’s Mulk, where Rishi Kapoor will appear in the look of a devout Muslim. Then there is the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Thackeray — the biopic on Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, presented by Sanjay Raut and directed by Abhijit Panse.

So what does it take to create different looks? “Prosthetic has a lot of parts involved in it. You first take the life cast of the actor in 3D measurement after which you sculpt and make moulds, running silicon pieces in it,” explains Preetisheel.

“The silicon pieces are then applied on the actor and are merged with the actor’s skin so that it doesn’t look artificial. So tomorrow if a filmmaker comes up and has the requirement for an alien creature, we can do it. In fact, it will be good fun and I’d love to create aliens for Bollywood.”

Is the whole process very time-consuming? “When we look at characters with prosthetics on screen, we do not realize how much time and effort goes behind the scenes. The whole process involves a lot of visualization, planning, detailing, art and finally time. But the end result is worth the energy spent,” she concludes with a smile.

When Indian-American singer Kabir released his debut single Got Me Hooked, he was anxious how well it will be accepted. The Brown Debonair as he has been nicknamed by the US media, Kabir has a very unique silvery voice compared to traditional Indian singers abroad.

A fortnight after his release, he is a happy man. Got me Hooked has not only been well-received, but has earned rave reviews in the American, Canadian as well as British media. Winning hearts of the huge Asian community as well as on the mainstream music circuit, its fast emerging a hot favourite with many radio stations playing it several times a day.

Written and produced by Damen Heyward and Juan ‘Majik’ Peters, the number has a set of hypnotic rhythms with the video having a very chilled-out feel. This has also managed to win Kabir a strong female fan-following.

“I should admit I was a bit nervous before the release, but the response from radio stations and social media has been heartening,” quips Kabir. Moreover, his video has steadily been growing in popularity on YouTube with consistent organic views and lots of positive comments, which has brought more cheer.

The singer narrates an incident when he recently visited an Indie club in Brooklyn and the DJ immediately recognized him. “The club managed to get hold of the number from YouTube and began playing it, announcing my presence. It was a touching and overwhelming moment for me. They made me feel like a rockstar,” recalls the debutant.

Not many are aware that Kabir actually belongs to the family of Partap Brothers with a rich musical heritage. Music runs in his blood, with some of his family members being veterans of traditional spiritual music and ambassadors of the Sikh community in North America. This makes it all the more interesting to see how Kabir will steer his musical journey from here.

Indian-American Brooklyn boy Kabir worked as a financial analyst in New York for the multi-billion-dollar company Bloomberg LP. But when it came to his dreams, he was man enough to quit his high-flying job to pursue his passion for singing. Released this week, his debut single Got Me Hooked, is sure managing to catch attention.

Written and produced by Damen Heyward and Juan ‘Majik’ Peters, Got Me Hooked is a peppy pop number with electrifying beats and racy lyrics. The music video reveals Kabir in a suave and stylish avatar. With a set of hypnotic rhythms and silvery voice, he comes across as a chilled-out ladies man out to conquer hearts.

Kabir’s voice has the pitch of a Punjabi jat combined with a soothing touch of flowing melody. A very unusual sound from what we are used to hear from Asian-American singers. And that is also what makes him stand out.

He has a rich musical heritage that includes the Partap Brothers; veterans of traditional spiritual music and ambassadors of the Sikh community in North America.

It turns out that over the years, classic and contemporary American songs have shaped Kabir’s sound along with traditional Indian music, reflecting his varying influences even on a pop track.

That’s an interesting personality-sound combo we have here. Now we’ll have to wait and watch how well it hooks the listeners.

Basking in the glory of the success of 102 Not Out, its makeup, hair and prosthetic designer Preetisheel Singh is almost in a daze from a week. The Amitabh Bachchan–Rishi Kapoor starrer brilliantly directed by Umesh Shukla has been a runaway hit with audiences and critics alike.

Ace film reviewer Kunal Guha of Mumbai Mirror points out that both (Bachchan and Kapoor) “internalize their screen personas to an extent that one often forgets the actors are under the layers of prosthetic.”

“Speaking of which, makeup and prosthetic artiste Preetisheel Singh is meticulous in her vision and execution and drafts faces that elaborately convey both their personalities. Even the strands of hair that sits on their head seem to be custom-woven to the brief—the father’s — unkempt and carefree, while the son’s — usually neatly parted, keeping with his orderly manner,” he writes.

Bollywood Hungama echoes, “The review would be incomplete without the mention of Preetisheel Singh’s makeup, hair and prosthetic. She gives a great look to both the veteran actors which also turns out to be the film’s USP.”

Covering Preetisheel for News18, journalist Mugdha Kapoor Safaya says, “It would be an understatement to only call her a makeup and prosthetic artiste. Perhaps, the term makeover whiz seems more appropriate.”

“While Amitabh Bachchan and Rishi Kapoor are to be credited for getting into the vibe of the characters, prosthetic artiste Preetisheel Singh deserves credit for the amazing physical transformation the actors underwent. With each look that she designs, Preetisheel provides an accurate physical aid to the characters being portrayed,” writes Urban Asian journalist Diana Lydia Parmar on social media.

“I’m humbled by the stupendous praise. 2018 has been a breathtakingly amazing year for me,” says Preetisheel, who emerged Bollywood’s No.1 look designer after she curated the looks for Ranveer Singh, Shahid Kapoor and Deepika Padukone in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s blockbuster Padmaavat.

This year also saw the re-release of the Sartaj Singh Pannu-directed Nanak Shah Fakir which got Preetisheel the National Film Award for Best Makeup. But the lady has no time to slow down. Her work will soon be showcased in the Harshvardhan Kapoor-starrer Bhavesh Joshi Superhero directed by Vikramaditya Motwane, followed by the Nawazuddin Siddiqui-starrer Thackeray — the biopic on Shiv Sena supremo Balasaheb Thackeray, presented by Sanjay Raut and directed by Abhijit Panse. For Preetisheel, it looks like the year has just begun.

“The market for casting in Bollywood films, short films and television serials has grown manifold after the dominance of internet,” says the Indian film industry’s leading casting director Ahana Mohammed.

The lady who has been in the business of casting actors and actresses for many top projects and assisted in arranging select key artistes in movies like Bang Baaja Baaraat, Yaariyan, Grand Masti and Agneepath, feels its boom time for her business.

A mass media graduate in advertising and marketing, the sought-after casting director has a rich experience of nine years in the business of casting and artist management. Along with handling the casting for film, television and music artistes, she often manages a lot of models for the fashion circuit as well.

“We have around 500 Bollywood films being made every year and almost the same amount of television serials, daily soaps and entertainment programmes across the wide spectrum of TV channels. The best part is that now there are even a whole lot of short films and music videos to be tapped on the internet. It’s never been a better time for actors to get work, expand their horizons beyond movies and earn more,” analyzes Ahana. She makes it a point to add that inspite of this boom, “the film and modeling industry has a tremendous potential for growth.”

“Earlier advertising was restricted to print media and television. But that has changed over the last three years. Online advertising is fast catching up and many companies are now allocating almost half of their publicity budget to internet advertising. Thus the market is expanding rapidly and so is the need for established as well as newer faces,” concludes Ahana.

Much has been written about Avengers: Infinity War from the last few weeks. From the trailers we all knew that the new super-villain Thanos wanted to destroy half the universe. We knew that he’d swat away superheroes like flies on his dessert.

So hardly anything can come as a surprise now, we thought. Until Bollywood PR guru Dale Bhagwagar posted this on his Twitter. “Since Thanos is supposed to have finished off half the universe… now, as usual, it’s time to spend a few days marking ourselves ‘safe’ on Facebook,” he wrote.

Since Thanos is supposed to have finished off half the universe… now, as usual, its time to spend a few days marking ourselves 'safe' on Facebook.

Dale’s crazy thought combined with a dollop of sarcasm about the amount of time we spend on Facebook, not only cracked us up, but got us thinking too.

The public relations specialist often gives us some of the news first on his social media. Like even before the official release of the new Avengers movie, the Bollywood publicist’s FB post read: “RIP Loki, Spider-Man, Black Panther, Groot, Doctor Strange. But don’t think we are so stupid that we do not know that you all will come back. Ganda hai par dhanda hai ye. (It’s dirty business, but its business)”